Health and Community Services
May 4, 2015

Supporting Mental Health in our Communities

Provincial Government Proclaims Mental Health Week During CMHA Conference

The Honourable Steve Kent, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health and Community Services, joined members of the Newfoundland and Labrador Division of the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA-NL) to begin the organization�s annual conference today, and to proclaim May 4 to 10 as Mental Health Week in Newfoundland and Labrador.

�Mental Health Week provides a tremendous opportunity to raise mental health awareness and bolster the conversation around greater understanding, reducing stigma and enhancing access to programs and services for those who need them. I was pleased to join members of the Canadian Mental Health Association for their annual conference today to officially proclaim Mental Health Week in our province. I also had the pleasure of announcing several new initiatives for increasing access to mental health supports in Newfoundland and Labrador.�
- The Honourable Steve Kent, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health and Community Services

As part of its commitment to enhancing online technologies for mental health and addictions support in Newfoundland and Labrador, the Provincial Government is expanding Bridge the gApp, a mental health app for youth developed by Eastern Health, to include additional features and enhanced province-wide content. A similar app is being developed for adults that will also offer self-help information and self-referral to mental health and addictions services. In addition, research funding is being provided for online technologies supporting mental health through:

• $50,000 in funding for Memorial University�s Counselling Centre to test ways to deliver a number of online health technologies, ranging from brief self-help online to tailored interventions with counsellors; and,
• $50,000 in funding for the adoption of the BreathingRoom � an online self-management program that gives young people between the ages of 13 and 24 the tools to manage stress, depression and anxiety.

�As the nation-wide leader and champion for mental health, the Canadian Mental Health Association facilitates access to the resources people require to maintain and improve community integration, build resilience, and support recovery from mental illness. We are pleased to join the Provincial Government to proclaim Mental Health Week in Newfoundland and Labrador and look forward to continuing our positive working relationship going forward.�
- Heidi Edgar, Chief Executive Officer (Acting), CMHA-NL

The Canadian Mental Health Association introduced Mental Health Week in 1951 to raise awareness of mental illness in Canada. The CMHA-NL is a voluntary, non-profit, charitable organization established in 1964 to promote a better understanding of mental health and mental illness throughout our province.

The Provincial Government invests approximately $100 million annually for mental health and addictions programs and services delivered by the four regional health authorities.

QUICK FACTS

• May 4 to 10 has been officially proclaimed as Mental Health Week in Newfoundland and Labrador for 2015. Mental Health Week is an annual national event that takes place during the first week in May to raise awareness of mental health in Canada.
• Each year, the Newfoundland and Labrador Division of the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA-NL) hosts an event to commemorate Mental Health Week by engaging the community to raise mental health awareness.
• To learn more about CMHA-NL visit www.cmha.ca/branch_locations/newfoundland-and-labrador-division/ .
• The Provincial Government continues to support online access to mental health services by expanding an existing app for youth, developing a new app for adults, and providing $100,000 for online health technologies research, and adoption of the BreathingRoom � an online self-management program that gives young people the tools to manage stress, depression and anxiety.
• Budget 2015 includes $422,000 to provide youth outreach to vulnerable and high-risk youth; $114,900 in annual funding to create a provincial system navigator position; and, $482,000 for a two-year agreement with Health Canada to fund a Provincial Methadone Treatment Policy, and increase access to substance-abuse services.

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Media contacts:

John Tompkins Director of Communications Department of Health and Community Services 709-729-1377, 728-7762 jtompkins@gov.nl.ca

Heidi Edgar Chief Executive Officer (Acting) Canadian Mental Health Association-Newfoundland and Labrador 709-691-5121 hedgar@cmhanl.ca

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